The present invention relates to the discovery of a new and distinct variety of ornamental peach tree, botanically known as Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, and herein referred to as ‘CANDY CANE’, as herein described and illustrated.
The new and distinct variety of ornamental peach tree ‘CANDY CANE’ originated as an open-pollinated selection of BY89P4594, which was an F2 selection from a hand pollinated cross of Shidaremomo seedling X Peppermint Stick made in 1985.
Plants and fruit of this new cultivar differ phenotypically from its parents. Seed of ‘Shidaremomo’ produced seedlings which were mostly red, single-flowered weepers but the tree used as a parent for ‘CANDY CANE’ was a red-leafed upright tree, suggesting it resulted from an outcross. Trees of ‘Peppermint Stick’ used as a pollen parent for ‘CANDY CANE’, had solid pink double flowers, apparently the result of using a bud from a pink-flowered reversion sector, but which genetically still carried the gene for variegated flowers. From the resulting hybrids BY86P238 was selected which had normal showy flowers and standard tree type. From a group of open-pollinated seedlings of BY86P238, BY89P4594 was selected with single, white and pink flowers, and green leaves with occasional red flecks. Open-pollinated seedlings of BY89P4594 were planted in Byron, Ga. in 1994. BY94P7706 was selected from these trees when it first bloomed in 1996, because of its tri-colored flowers and variegated foliage. The original tree was bud-grafted onto GUARDIAN™ rootstock and the resulting trees planted in Byron, Ga. in 1999. Third generation trees were bud-grafted onto GUARDIAN™ in 2007 and trees were planted at Byron, Ga. in 2008. There are no known effects of this standard rootstock on this scion variety. The present invention has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations, as long as buds from shoots with tri-colored blooms are selected for propagation.
‘CANDY CANE’ has unique tree and fruit characteristics making it suitable for ornamental use. It is apparently homozygous for red leaf (GrGr), red flower (rr), double flower (dd), and unstable white flower (wvwv). The wv gene inconsistently inhibits anthocyanin (red color) production, so phenotypically, most leaves and stems appear green with various amounts of red streaks and sectors. As is typical of red-leaf peaches, the red color is most noticeable on new growth, and fades to a bronze-green on older leaves. Blossoms are very large, with buds reaching approximately 1.5 cm in diameter just before opening, and open blossoms reaching approximately 7 cm in diameter. Most flower parts are doubled or more. The showy petals display a combination of white, pink, and red colors, often within the same flower, similar to the variety ‘Peppermint Stick’.
As the tree produces new growth, the unstable wv gene may become inactive and revert back to wild type (W) allowing red pigments to be expressed, or may become more stable showing no red color, similar to ww (white-flowered). This combination of three gene expressions in two tissue layers produces the striking variegation in flower, leaf, and stem color. If the reversion or stabilization occurs in the cells that produce a vegetative bud, the entire shoot arising from that bud may also change. Reversion to red (flower and leaf) or stabilization to no-red (green leaf and white flower) seems to be permanent for a given layer, although in sectors where the gene has stabilized no-red, rare red or pink flecks may still be seen.
To maintain the variegated form, nurserymen must propagate using buds from shoots with variegated red and green stems and leaves. Trees propagated from other types of shoots will not have the maximum variegation but are in themselves attractive ornamentals due to the very large flower size. For example, trees budded from red-leaved shoots will remain red-leaved and red-flowered.
The new variety has been named ‘CANDY CANE’.